Wintuk
by Wordblock-93
Summary: Levi remembers his first real family. As he mourns them one last time, he swears to protect his new one with every fiber in his being. Especially her. *Rivamika 2014 entry day 1*


" _Hey big bro, what's snow?" Isabel was tending to the injured bird she had brought in, and looked up at him. Levi quirked his head towards his new little sister, "What?"_

 _"I said, 'what's snow'?"_

 _"Where did you hear about snow, Isabel?"_

 _"I…I heard some old lady talking about it. That above ground sometimes it snows around this time of year. Maybe one day we when we go above ground we can see it." Isabel looked up at him, anticipation coloring her features._

 _"It's not real. It hasn't snowed since the walls have been up." Levi curtly responded before he focused on polishing his knife._

 _Farlan frowned at the sight of Isabel's dejection, "Just because we haven't seen it doesn't mean it's not real, Levi," he argued. "Do you always have to see the worst in everything?"_

 _"Better to be pleasantly surprised than bitterly disappointed." Levi paused his polishing and looked up at him. "You don't survive by believing old wives' tales and fables."_

 _The room fell silent; Farlan considering what was just said, while Isabel was mulling over her next plan to leave the underground. Levi, finally satisfied with the shine of his knife, stuck it back into his boot. He started straightening up the other items on the table._

 _"Well I bet when we get above ground, we'll see snow. We'll see a lot of things that we've never seen before." Isabel raised her head defiantly, "You'll see big bro. Everything will be a lot better for us."_

 _"They sure will. They'll be much better." Farlan agreed._

 _Despite himself, Levi grinned at his sister's stubbornness, "Good to see the brat still has hope." He rose out of his chair and walked over to her, ruffling her hair. She scrunched her face in irritation and rolled her eyes at him before sighing._

Levi broke out of his reverie, remembering his first real family. He couldn't remember the last time he felt himself grin. It's been at least a few months. Finally he had gotten to a point where he was able to think of them without tearing up. He stood up from his desk, grabbed his 3DMG and started out of their makeshift base. The great thing about it was that it was secluded. No other homes for miles, and there were tons of trees around for flying.

Right when he was about to take flight, he saw one flurry, then another. He held out his hand, catching one. " _Well I bet when we get above ground, we'll see snow. We'll see a lot of things that we've never seen before_." When he remembered her faith despite the circumstances they were in, he teared up. "If only you had known. Things aren't perfect, and they've definitely become unpredictable, but you'd love the adventure, especially the snow." He spoke to the blowing wind.

"Captain," he turned to the familiar voice, "are you crying?"

He paused and wiped his face, the cold numbing it to the tears coming down.

"Ackerman." He grunted, "No. I don't cry. What are you doing out here?"

"Training, sir." She braced herself in the cold wind, covering her face with her scarf.

"Mmmm." He was slowly drifting back into his memory, "Carry on. Not too long, it's freezing out here."

She hesitated, surprised at his concern, "Y-Yes, sir." Her voice disappeared into the wind as the whir of the gear sent her gliding through the air. She wasn't known as the top of her class for nothing. He has never met someone with her skill and her training regiment. But even so, she was still human, and humans were mortal. Humans were titan fodder, or even worse, captives of their own murderous vices. He promised himself that he would never make the same mistake with her that he did with his fallen loved ones. He will be there for her and with her to the death.

With this new resolve, he pressed the trigger on his own gear, flying through the blue, snowy sky. Despite all that's happened, he knows now as much as he did then that he made his choice with no regrets.


End file.
